Report on KLNAC 2021 Virtual Symposium

On the 16th November 2021, a half-day KLNAC 2021 Virtual Symposium successfully reached out to 240 participants in Malaysia and as far away as Canada and New Zealand. The theme: a decade of Universiti Malaya tobacco control research marks ten over years of dedicated effort from a team of professionals and students of the Nicotine Addiction Research and Collaborative Group at Universiti of Malaya on research for the prevention, advocacy, cessation and innovation towards a smoke-free generation since its inception in 2009.

Associate Professor Dr Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin, UMCares Director & NARCC Coordinator, Universiti Malaya, Chairman KLNAC 2021 welcomed all distinguished participants and speakers and KLNAC 2021 Virtual Symposium was enthusiastically declared opened by the Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research & Innovation) Professor Dr Sabri Musa who emphasized the importance of research in order to optimise intervention effectiveness in the fight of the biggest public health threat that the world has ever faced: tobacco epidemic. This is because intervention impact can be improved through research that addresses ways to increase the reach, demand, quality, dissemination, implementation and sustainability of evidence-based tobacco use treatment.

We were also honoured to have Professor Dr Sabri Musa launch the “Kuala Lumpur Nicotine Addiction International Conference (KLNAC) 2021 – Virtual Symposium” and the coffee-table book entitled – NARCC – a decade in Tobacco Control Research that complements the efforts in nicotine addiction research by the NARCC.

The virtual symposium kicked off with an insightful and inspiring plenary by the esteem Professor Christopher Bullen, Professor of Public Health, Director, National Institute for Health Innovation, Deputy Head, School of Population Health at The University of Auckland, New Zealand on “What does a successful research centre look like?”. Professor Christopher Bullen plays an integral role as co-founder and a great supporter of NARCC, UMCAS to date.

Plenary by Professor Christopher Bullen

A myriad of titles ranging from university tobacco control advocacy program, smoking prevalence, choice of nicotine replacement therapy, cessation group therapy, 2020 Malaysia ITC survey methods, E-cigarettes and HTPs related issues and efforts on cessation via quitline and mobile GEMPAQ app was part of the symposiums show-casing research findings that are innovative, creative and practical ways to overcome nicotine addiction.

Symposium Speakers and Presentations

As part of the second half of the symposium, a forum on “Tobacco Control in Malaysia: What to Expect and prepare in the Next 20 years” was delightfully engaged between Dr Nor Aryana Hassan, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, Dr Mohd Afiq Mohd Nor, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre and Associate Professor Dr Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin. This forum was moderated by Associate Professor Dr Nur Amani @ Natasha Ahmad Tajuddin, Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya.

At the closing, our co-chair, Associate Professor Dr Farizah Mohd Hairi graciously thanked everybody and booked a date in 2023 for the next KLNAC and the 14th Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health (APACT14). Last but not least, we were most fortunate to have closing remarks that were enlightening and purposeful from our beloved Patron Professor Dr Noorsaadah Abdul Rahman who although just recently retired, yet still managed to grace our event with her presence.

Forum Q&A Session

Co-Chairperson KLNAC 2021
Professor Dr Noorsaadah Abdul Rahman at the Closing Ceremony
KLNAC 2021 Committee Members

KLNAC 2021 Participants

This report is prepared by Associate Professor Dr Farizah Mohd Hairi, Dr Siti Idayu Hasan, and Ina Sharyn Kamaludin, ITC University of Malaya Team, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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